12 Reasons Why People Who Spend Money on Experiences, Not Things, Are Happier

There is probably not a single person on this planet, who does not like and enjoy having the best material things, but some experts claim that spending money on experiences, is a whole lot more gratifying and that it will help anyone to live a happier life.

What would you do, if someone offers you to pick between a diamond ring and two tickets for a cruise? While the diamond ring may make some of your friends and family jealous for a few days or months, the cruise trip will certainly stay in your memory for the rest of your life.

This means that you will get a whole lot more from spending some of your money on experiences, rather than on material things. So keep on reading and find out why some people prefer to spend their money like this and why they are convinced that this helps us to live happier lives.

Reasons Why Purchasing Experiences Is A Safer Bet

Reason 1 – The Thrill

As mentioned above, the thrill of spending your money on experiences, rather than on material things, will last a whole lot longer and it will provide you with more satisfaction as well.

Almost all of us know how it feels to get the latest model of one of the most popular products in the market. Yes, purchasing the latest model, of your favorite mobile phone brand or tablet, will make you feel great and joyful, but how long will these feelings last?

Most of the time, you will play and enjoy these objects, only for a few weeks or a few months max. Spending your money on tickets to a very special event or on a love trip with your spouse, will create a memory that lasts forever and makes you happy too.

These thrills may be different for everyone, but spending everything on material things, will certainly not make you lead a happier life.

Reason 2 – Experiences keep on giving

It really does not matter whether you spend some of your hard-earned money on a simple local art event or if you spend a little more and make a trip to the Louvre Museum in Paris, these are both experiences that will keep giving for a very long time.

Yes, it would be very nice to buy yourself a watch or a purse, but what if the watch stops working or if the purse gets its damaged? This would either make you sad or angry and it will certainly take the joy away from buying these things.

So think twice before you spend your money on something, as some experiences can provide a whole lot more for your money, than some material things.

Reason 3 – Open your mind to new things

By investing some of your money in experiences, you will open your mind to new things, which means that you will have a different perspective on things and life.

While this may also happen when you purchase some material things, it does not happen as much and an experience will certainly provide you with more ideas and feelings. Investing on experiences, is something that everyone should learn to love.

Reason 4 – Experiences create more anticipation

Waiting for the latest Smart TV model to be released in the market, can create a lot of anticipation and make you feel excited, but anticipating an experience, like a trip or an adventure, can be even more exhilarating.

According to Changing Minds “Anticipation is a powerful emotion of wanting and can have a particular effect in changing minds.”

When you use your money on an experience, you will have to spend some time doing some research and this can be very exciting. Looking at online sites to find a hotel, can be very fun or even trying to get some VIP tickets for a certain concert and this is another reason why experiences can yield a whole lot more, than buying some things.

Reason 5 – You will not compare yourself to others

Seeing your neighbor purchase the latest Mercedes-Benz or one of the latest Apple smartphones, may make you a little jealous and want you to buy something better.

This usually does not happen when you spend your money on experiences, as it is a lot harder to compare these kinds of things. When travelling to an exotic country or city, we will all enjoy it a little differently and forge our experiences around that.

This will help us to live a happier life, because not having to compare yourself with your neighbor, friends or even family members, will reduce a lot of stress and problems in your life.

So if you do not want to have these feeling for anyone out there, try buying more experiences than things and you will soon have more stories to feel better about.

Reason 6 – Bonding with others

When there is a sale at a local store or there are lots of people buying certain products, there is hardly any bondage between them and there are even times, when people fight amongst each other in these types of situations.

This rarely happens when you spend your money on an experience, as it is not usual for people to start an argument on a nice music concert, a comforting cruise ship or a relaxing adventure. People tend to make friends and meet others when they are out having fun and this happens when you buy experiences with your money.

Spending some time at a tour, can help you to make lots of friends while you learn something interesting about the place that you are visiting. There are so many experiences that can create a positive bondage between people and this is why we encourage you to think about spending your money on these kinds of things and not material things.

Reason 7 – Money spent on memories, is always money well spent

Even if your trip to Walt Disney World or Europe, was not what you had expected or dreamt, you will certainly gain a lot of experience from such trips and you will remember them for many years to come.

This does not happen when you purchase material things, such as a smartphone, a tablet or a smart TV, as if one of these products stops working, you will have a very bad experience and you might even lose some money.

According to FOCUS, “Making memories, is one way to create a lasting sense of common identity and shared family heritage among the members of your household.” This can also be true with friends and other people, which means that spending money on memories is really a good investment.

Reason 8 – Material purchases have shorter lives

We have mentioned this before, but we believe that this is a very important reason for you to start choosing some memory and experience purchases, instead of some material purchases.

A perfect example is electronic products, as they will usually only have a working lifetime of a few years and after that, you will not get anything for your money. Some of these gadgets, may even malfunction after only a few days of you purchasing them and this will make you feel very bad about sending some money on them.

This will not happen when you purchase some experiences and moments that you will remember, as our memories will always provide us something to enjoy from those special times.

Reason 9 – You cannot quantify experiences

While we can put a number to certain products or material things that you can have in your home, it is impossible to quantify memories, experiences and moments.

There is really no way to put a price on experiences and memories, which is why the price that you will pay, will always be too low for these kinds of things. Once the moment has gone by and you have experienced it, there is no way that someone can take it away from you.

There is also no way that other people can imitate those experiences and special moments that you lived, which means that you will always have something unique in your life.

Hardly anyone forgets the trip that they made on their graduation and these kinds of things are something that you will never put a price on.

Reason 10 – Experiences will help shape who you are

While some material things, will make you look good and appear to have more class, the value that you will gain from investing on some experiences, is still much higher.

If you do not spend money on experiences and special moments, you will fail to discover who you really are, what your purpose in life is and what your passions are. By investing some of your hard earned money on experiences, you will gain all of these and they are all important for succeeding in life.

The following is a video where we can see Father Koscieliak talk about the importance of investing in yourself and investing in experiences.

The video should help you to reflect about the importance of spending money on moments, rather than on material purchases and why it will help you to grow as a person.

Investing money into experiences, does not mean that you have to go over your budget and spend thousand of dollars, as there are many things that you can do, without spending any money or only a bit and still grow as a human being.

Reason 11 – Experiences will allow you to know the world

According to some experts, there is no better way, to learn about the world, than by travelling and getting to know different places. Even if you use the latest satellite technology and watch every documentary you can, it will never be the same, as actually being at a place.

Just imagine what you could learn from visiting the Great Pyramid in Egypt, instead of only watching it on your computer’s screen or TV. This trip would certainly generate a lot of different feeling within you and this is why you should invest in these kinds of things.

Making such trips and travels, will also help you to learn how different societies see the world, how they live and what they expect from life. These are things that you cannot learn in school and that no one can convince you about.

You actually have to live and experience these kinds of things yourself, in order to get a better perspective of the world around you and everything else.

Reason 12 – You will learn to be more gratifying

Believe it or not, being involve in different kinds of experiences, knowing different cities and talking to different people, will also help you to be more gratifying and to value everything that you have.

Once your memory is filled with experiences, you will feel a whole lot different about your existence and the way the world works. Experiences, usually also teach us to help others and to respect how others live.

This is really something that you cannot get from any kind of material thing and this is why major life experiences, must be part of your life. Living a grateful life and being happy with what you have, will help you to lead a better life and to be positive most of the time.

In the following video, you can see Mark van der Heijden, talking about how travelling will change your life. He really shares some interesting pointers about this and if you want to invest your money as best as you can, you should definitely listen to what he has to say.

Overall, we can say that investing on experiences is one of the best things that you can do with your hard earned cash. You will never get as much value from some expensive material things, as you can from a free moment or experience.

So start enjoying your life a little more every day and invest on experiences, rather than on material things.